Google has been testing self-driving cars for some time now, and it’s clear that the technology the search giant is developing will become a big part of future vehicles. In fact, more and more states are already preparing for this inevitability by passing laws and regulations regarding autonomous vehicles.

Now, Google has unveiled what a car that doesn’t require a driver might actually look like. The company on Tuesday took the wraps off a prototype driverless car designed to work without human intervention. In fact, you couldn’t drive it if you wanted to: It has no steering wheel, accelerator pedal, brake or side mirrors.

A photo, left, and a rendering of Google’s new self-driving prototype vehicle. (Google)

It may seem like a silly thing to point out, but even though Google’s self-driving cars have racked up 700,000 miles of testing, they don’t actually drive independently. The company said the cars can handle most situations (well, when they are loaded with a map of the roads and it’s not snowing), but every time they are sent out on the road they are carefully monitored by two Google employees who are ready to take control at any moment.

The new car has no such human safety net. It’s entirely driven by computers. To head off any concerns of malfunctioning robots hurtling you toward imminent doom, Google has made the car look cute and cuddly from the outset.

Because of the compact, round frame of the prototype with built-in sensor mounts, Google says the car has virtually no blind spots.

It also has newer and better sensors that give it the ability to see what’s going on up to a distance of two football fields. For example, on the most current version of the retrofitted self-driving Lexus, a mounted laser has about a 12-degree field of view that it uses to essentially zoom in on details of points of interest. On the prototype car, the lasers have full 360-degree views. “It’s going from looking just in front, like a flashlight, to a lantern all around the car,” said self-driving car project director Chris Urmson.

The car has a maximum speed of 25 mph, so it’s clearly designed for use on city streets. And while most state regulations require that a driver be able to take control of an autonomous vehicle, that may change as the technology improves. Google thinks new regulations will be issued in California soon allowing cars like the prototype.

Based on videos at re/code and Google’s site, riding in the car looks like fun, but regardless of how good the technology becomes, I suspect its passengers will always feel just a tad … anxious.